BENDIS:Well, thats the best part.
Its a big mixture.
Shes living a different life, on a different course than Tony Stark.
Credit: Marvel
But her connection to [him] is going to be very, very strong.
Is there any reason you decided to make her so young?
I think theres something really magical about this age.
You dont even know what you dont know yet.
That actually becomes one of [Riri]s mantras because shes more self-aware than your average teenager.
She literally says, I dont even know what I dont know.
Thats exciting and scary, like the real world is.
What does having her step into Tony Starks shoes add to the Marvel Universe?
This is where theres a similarity to her and Miles Morales.
Miles, inSpider-Man, is trying to live the code of with great power comes great responsibility.
But he was raised completely differently than Peter Parker.
[So] you examine those words from a completely fresh perspective.
She did this all by herself.
No one asked her to.
No one forced her to.
She wasnt flown into a cave like Tony and had to find his way out with this armor.
She did this in her dorm room.
Were going to find out why in the very first issue.
Theyre very different characters with very different themes.
But they are new characters stepping into the shoes of an icon that people are familiar with.
Miles should not have worked.
No one was looking to fix it.
People were waiting for that kind of iconic representation.
Marvels always been a mirror reflection of the world we live in and these choices are exciting.
I live in a high trick-or-treating neighborhood.
And she didnt even know Thor was a woman in the comics, she just wanted to be Thor.
This did not happen five years ago.
This is not what it looked like.
Theyre not even being knocked down.
Young kids dont even see them.
Anyone could be these heroes.
As a writer, do you worry about not being able to capture that part of a characters identity?
This is a very complicated question to me, personally.
Im the father of four children, two of whom are an African girl and an African American girl.
I dont say that to throw my kids as a shield in front of any critique.
People go, Oh thats not what I thought it was.
Also, were writers and theres this idea that writers should only write what they know or have experienced.
[But it] is not how writing has worked since writing began.
We are supposed to do research.
Everyone should write and draw everything.
Everyone has a unique perspective and ability.
It goes with the perspective unique to a certain way of life.
All those voices should be heard.
But they should also be able to write whatever they want to write.
That is not what happened.
I created the character all by myself and I didnt ask anyones permission.
[I created her] with the idea that Tony needs more supporting characters in his world.
I want to open up that world.
Thats where she came from.
There absolutely, 100% should be more voices of different ethnicities heard in mainstream comics.
Im thrilled that things are shifting as much as they have in the last two years.
But I do know that Riri was not taken from an African American creator.
You mention writing other perspectives.
You talk to enough people and do enough research.
Its even beyond skin color and experience.
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